You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page.


This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Director: Herbert Kline
Producer: Alexander Hammid, Herbert Kline
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Keywords:

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Dr Feel Rotten - - November 8, 2010
Subject: It's as real then as it is today.
Today we have millions who think all they have to do is to pray to an invisible man in the sky to cure all illnesses and who will also ride in on a white horse to make everyone prosperous and turn us into a concurring land worthy of "the gods".
How pathetic people really are even today.

Reviewer: marvmitch - - January 1, 2010
Subject: Get this iPod Movie
You can get this movie for your iPod at http://www.ipod-lounge.com

Reviewer: kinematos - - August 5, 2009
Subject: Openly and unapologetically progressive
This is a movie by John Steinbeck. It was filmed in 1941, in the mountains of Mexico. It has no actors, only real local people. With the exception of the village teacher, none of them had ever seen a movie. It is a good movie, but that is not the only reason why I recommend it. The other reason is that Steinbeck was of a kind one doesn't often meet today, in this age of cultural conservatism --- an overt and unapologetic progressive. This is an unusual and unfashionable movie.

Reviewer: kofferfisch - - May 13, 2006
Subject: Music
This is Hans Eisler!!

Famous German composer, see Brechts Kuhle Wampe etc.


H.

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - August 22, 2004
Subject: Culture Clash Between Traditional and Modern Ways
This sensitively-done 30s documentary tells the story of Juan Diego, a young man who lives in a tiny Mexican village, where people live a traditional rural lifestyle that has changed little over thousands of years. The only link with the outside world is JuanÂs schoolteacher, who gives the village children a bit of knowledge of the modern world. When the children of JuanÂs village start sickening and dying in droves, Juan goes to his teacher for help. The teacher suspects that the village well is spreading an infectious disease, and he encourages Juan to go to a nearby city and get a public health team to come and help. Unfortunately, the villagers rely on a local medicine woman for healthcare, and they are extremely hostile to new ideas. When Juan returns with the medical team, most of the families hide their sick children from them, and when they try to disinfect the well, the villagers accuse them of poisoning it. In desperation to cure his seriously ill younger sister (he already lost a brother to the illness), Juan sneaks her to the medical team in the middle of the night to get her an injection of a curative serum, but his father catches him afterwards and orders him to leave the village and never return. The medical team, however, make arrangements for Juan to attend a special school for young people who want to bring modern medicine to their villages. They reassure Juan that change happens slowly, and that it will be young people like him who will finally bring such changes about. This is an intelligent and sensitive film that is not too hard on the villagers who reject the medical teamÂs interventions. This makes it more enlightened than youÂd expect for the time it was made. Of course, by todayÂs standards, it has some problemsÂÂit gives no context for the villagers suspiciousness of outsiders coming in and trying to change their ways, which may encourage audience members to think of them as just ignorant and stubborn. And it shows no downside to modernity, whereas from todayÂs perspective we know that modern ways, with their medical miracles and conveniences, have a tendency to destroy traditional ways of life, leaving little for poor rural people to take its place. Still, this film is a wonderful documentation of those ways of life, as well as providing a historically interesting snapshot of public health practices in Mexico during the 30s.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****+. Overall Rating: *****.

Reviewer: cashel - - August 21, 2004
Subject: but is it a true account?
The critic,Richard Griffith, in his book"the film till now" has described this film as " an arty and unreal account of Mexican education and superstition". However I enjoyed this documentary film for its splendid b/w photography, narration and music. It is based on John Steinbeck,s book.